With an increasing computing speed of modern computer systems, memory capacity requirements are increasing, too. Applications continuously increasing in complexity, like, for example, in the field of graphics, simulation or operating systems, necessitate continuously growing memory capacities and access speeds. Memory units, like, for example, FB-DIMMs, have been known in the field of conventional technology. FB-DIMM provide greater memory capacities for, for example, servers and work stations, high operating reliability and easy maintainability. FB-DIMMs exemplarily support DDR 2 (double data rate) SDRAM (synchronous dynamic random access memory) memory elements. An FB-DIMM, for example, includes a plurality of memory elements which can be addressed by an AMB (advanced memory buffer). An AMB can establish a connection to a so-called memory controller which is not located on the memory module, i.e., the FB-DIMM, via an input/output interface which may exemplarily include 24 differential line pairs.
An AMB can additionally communicate with memory elements which may also be implemented on the memory module. This may be realized via data and control lines, the complexity of the data and control lines growing with increasing memory requirements, i.e. increasing number of memory elements on the memory module. In the field of conventional technology, memory elements including several so-called dies have been known, for example. A die represents a memory region on a substrate, wherein several dies can be united to form a memory element, which may also be referred to as piggyback arrangements since individual dies may be arranged one above the other.
With increasing memory requirements and/or an increasing memory capacity, the number of data and/or control lines on a memory module also increases, wherein small distances between lines result in high line capacitances which in turn may affect the energy consumption of such a memory module in a negative way. Apart from the continuously increasing requirements for memory capacity, there is also demand for ever shorter access times to data stored. This means that the memory modules used are to be operated by ever higher clock rates so that propagation time effects on data and control lines are becoming important. With an increasing number of data and control lines and also increasing line capacitances, propagation time effects in memory modules may become critical and cause limiting effects.